Thursday, December 24, 2009

one day before Christmas..

2 vessels collide, 27 missing..

MANILA, Philippines – Search-and-rescue teams combed the waters of Manila Bay on Thursday for at least 27 people missing after a passenger ferry collided with a fishing boat, the coast guard said.

Forty-six passengers and crew of the wooden-hulled ferry MV Catalyn B were plucked from the water and brought to the coast guard's Manila headquarters, said coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo. The coast guard has alerted all vessels in the area to look for those still missing, he said.

A woman passenger was seen being carried on a stretcher, while others were led to a clinic for a medical examination.

The 44-foot- (13-meter-) long vessel, which was carrying 73 people on a journey from Manila to southwest Mindoro Island, sank shortly after the accident, Balilo said. The ferry had a capacity to carry 126 people.

All 22 crewmen on the other vessel involved in the collision, were safe and their fishing boat did not sink, said Melvin Viola of the coast guard's operation center.

The cause of the collision off Cavite province's Limbones island was not clear. No weather disturbances were reported in the area. The collision came at a time when millions of Filipinos were heading to their home provinces ahead of Christmas Eve.

more of the news..

3 comments:

escape said...

such a sad news for the people in the country. but allow me to greet you for the holidays!

bw said...

hopefully the gloom and doom is all behind us now. time to move on.

wishing you a bountiful new year full of happy thoughts and a positive outlook on life. All the best for 2010 :)

Keith said...

I realize that ,ferries are still safe transportation, but everytime I hear of these accidents, I find it frightfully disturbing